Across The Pond

Forty-seven year old Martina Navratilova won her opening round match at Wimbledon today. There is only one problem with this. She won. The nine time Wimbledon champion not only advanced, but won 6-0, 6-1. Now, we are left wondering just how bad these opening round opponents are. I mean how could anyone take a decade off, then just pop in to win a match at Wimbledon? Anyone know how old Bjorn Borg is?

Before the tennis elite come after me, I realize Navratilova is still playing doubles at a very high level. Admirable and impressive as it may be, it's still doubles. There are many fine doubles players who can't compete at anywhere near the same level when going solo. The difference between singles and doubles is enormous. That's why Navratilova is still playing doubles.

Navratilova is probably the greatest women's player ever, but running out to play singles at Wimbledon this year was a lose-lose proposition from the start in my book. She wins and we are left wondering just how bad the tennis is. Martina loses and we all wonder what the heck she was thinking and feeling kind of sorry for her.

I really want to embrace the spirit of competition, but this isn't the "Olympic Ideal" here. It's Wimbledon. It's professional tennis' biggest stage. Having a retired star emerge from basically nowhere, after a ten year hiatus, to dust off some kid in a match diminishes the level of play in women's tennis.

Her quote today at ESPN.com illustrates the problem. "When people say 'Why are you doing it?' I guess the answer is because I still can, bottom line". She's right, of course. It's just I don't think John McEnroe or Mats Wilander could do the same. Is that because Navratilova was/is a better women's player than either McEnroe or Wilander were men's players? Or is it that women's tennis is just that bad at it's lower levels that a retiree can return and win a match at the All England Club? Playing, I should saying winning, has opened that door of debate.

What happens if she wins, again? Sure, the media circus will begin in earnest extolling the wonder-of-it-all, but eventually Navratilova is going to run into someone she can't handle. Are one of Williams' sisters or Lindsay Daveneport going to have to "go easy" on their sport's all-time biggest star? It's one thing to run over some punk kid looking to take your spot in the next few years, it's a whole other thing to disassemble a living legend on world-wide television. Why should either party be put in that position?

Navratilova certainly has every right to play if the folks running Wimbledon ask, as they did. It's her life and legacy, not ours. I just wish Navratilova would have saved women's tennis from what could be a nightmare by knowning when to say when.

In other sports news from Europe, I see Euro 2004 has had an outbreak of good old fashioned, new world bad manners. Francesco Totti of Italy and Alexander Frei of Switzerland have both been suspended for spitting on opponents. Apparently both players are looking for future employment in the NFL.